Save-the-Redwoods LeagueFall Bulletin 2006

Fall in the redwoods, Mill CreekPhoto by Stephen Corley

This bulletinhighlights the lastingimpact of past bondacts on the redwoodforest. A primeexample is theCorridor from theRedwoods to the Seafor which we haveworked to piecetogether protection ofits forests, streams,and wild open spaces

over the past seven years. The investment of public fundswas a key element of this project. We matched publicfunds with private contributions from our members andsupporters to permanently protect this land fromaggressive logging and the pressure of development. Withpublic bond funds now depleted, our ability to buildprotection for the remaining redwood forest is at risk.

Known as the Clean Water, Parks and Coastal ProtectionAct, Proposition 84 on California’s November ballotproposes a $5.4 billion measure to provide criticallyneeded funds to protect and preserve California’s naturalresources.

Continuing our long history of stimulating publicinvestment in redwood conservation, we are working witha broad coalition of environmental groups, water agencies,and others to secure passage of this bond measure. Ofparticular importance to our programs, the proposedbond includes $400 million for California State Parks;$180 million to establish a statewide forest conservationprogram; $45 million to protect coastal salmon and $135million for wildlife protection.

Facing enormous population growth in the coming years, California expects 25 million new residents by2040. Investment in infrastructure is not keeping pace.Current funding for natural resources and environmentalprotection programs is critically low, making up less than 1% of the overall state budget.

The success of Proposition 84 is needed to ensure thatpeople will have access to safe drinking water, betterprotection from floods and opportunities to enjoy parks,natural landscapes, and our rivers, lakes, beaches, bays,coastline, and forests.

Often I am asked, “apart from donating money, what can I do to help protect the redwoods?” This fall you havethe opportunity to talk to your friends and family aboutthe impact of Proposition 84. Visit one of California’sbeautiful State Parks, or beaches, swim in a river, and ifyou have the opportunity take your family and friends towalk among the redwoods. Stop and enjoy the autumnalcolors; and then return and vote yes on Proposition 84.

Thank you for joining with me to care for the future of California’s redwood forest.

Ed ClaassenPresident

To learn more about Proposition 84, please visitwww.cleanwater2006.com.

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Building on MomentumM

Letter from the PresidentFall in the forest is marked by the appearance of the rich gold of the big leaf maple and thebrilliant red of the lacy vine maple against the deep green of the redwoods. And fall this year also brings an election season of particular importance for redwood conservation.

Throughout the League’s history dating back to 1918, our organization has been blessed withextraordinary leadership. A few key individuals who possessed the vision, drive and ability tomarshal the support of others have guided our efforts to preserve and protect the ancientredwood forests in the face of daunting obstacles. John C. Merriam, the League’s first president,Newton Drury, the first executive director, and John Dewitt, executive director through the1970’s and 80’s come readily to mind. Now we must add to that list of those whose period ofremarkable leadership has come to a close. Kate Anderton completed her tenure as executivedirector in July after guiding the organization for the past eleven years. She will be greatlymissed by all who had the opportunity to work with her.

In our experience in working with Kate, she: challenged us to take on acquisition projects that seemed daunting inthe beginning, and then crafted a path forward that in hindsight seems so clear and appropriate; found her ownunique voice speaking both eloquently and passionately about the redwoods and our stewardship of them, so thatthese silent ancient ones had a true advocate; built alliances with critical strategic partners throughout the state andbeyond; shaped and nurtured a staff of capable and committed professionals, who continually perform in a way thatgives us all tremendous confidence and pride in their ability; instituted a clear and responsive process for translatingour strategic intent into operational plans that ensure we are applying our resources and energy to the things thatreally matter; and was a wonderful colleague.

I know you will join us in extending a very special thank you to Kate for all that she gave and all that sheaccomplished on behalf of the League and the redwoods.

from League members, the 24-acres known as HorseCollar Creek will be added to the northern stem ofHumboldt Redwoods State Park and managed byCalifornia State Parks.

The Board of Directors Bids Farewell to Kate Anderton rr

arch’s close of our fiscal year confirmed that in 2005, with your support, the Leagueprotected about 7400 acres of critical redwoodland and connecting habitat valued at nearly$12 million.

In addition, the League transferred property valued atalmost $15 million to California State Parks, theBureau of Land Management and other state and fed-eral agencies for permanent stewardship and to opennew recreational opportunities.

Guided by the Master Plan for Coast Redwoods, theLeague is now working to complete some projects thathave been in the pipeline for some time, and to devel-op the next group of protection efforts. By the timeyou read this we will have completed the protection ofa highly visible stand of ancient redwoods alongHighway 101. With support, in equal parts fromCalifornia State Parks bond funds and contributions

Redwoods at Horse Collar CreekPhoto by: Save-the-Redwoods staff

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“The only way to manage an ecosystem like theCorridor, a complex mix of private and public land, is

for landowners, public agencies, and environmentalorganizations to work together.”

- Bob Wick, BLM planning and environmental coordinator

Gilham Butte, BLM has managed the reserve to protect and improvewildlife resource values. It’s recognizedas vital habitat for nesting northernspotted owls.

The Corridor project’s first prioritywas preserving forests borderingGilham Butte Reserve. Time was run-ning out: Eel River Sawmills had filedtimber harvest plans for the Salmon,Grindstone, and Westlund creekwatersheds. The League, active in theregion since its founding, stepped in.The parcels were purchased with $2.6

ancient forest: the ethereal spiralingsong of a hermit thrush, the yammerof a pileated woodpecker, the hoot of adistant owl.

“Piecing together a quilt of protection”as League executive director KatherineAnderton called the process, has beenone of the League’s largest and mostcomplex projects. It involvedacquisition of 6,500 acres, a 4,000-acre conservation easement, and a1,200-acre land exchange.

Putting the Pieces TogetherWhat does it mean to assemble a quiltof protection? In the Corridor, itrequired forging a multitude of part-nerships. These include the US Bureauof Land Management (BLM), theWildlife Conservation Board (an inde-pendent California state board thatacquires land for wildlife conserva-tion), Ancient Forest International,local Humboldt County organizations,and private landowners. It also tookmultiple approaches. Components ofthe Corridor were purchased fromtimber companies and other landown-ers, and have nearly all been trans-ferred to BLM or California StateParks. Others were protected by ease-ments, with landowners agreeing tolimitations on use of the land in orderto preserve its environmental values. Athird approach, used in conjunctionwith a key easement, was an exchangeof League-owned land with a privatelandowner.

At the beginning, one piece wasalready in place: BLM’s 2,500-acreGilham Butte Reserve. Salmon Creek,which flows into the South Fork of theEel River, and eastern tributaries of theMattole River originate in this dividebetween watersheds. Working withlocal organizations like the Friends of

Mattole River, Corridor from the Redwoods to the Sea Photo by Ruskin Hartley

The animal frozen in theheadlights of J. J. Hall's truck hadall the marks of a Humboldtmarten (Martes americanahumboldtensis): foxy face, buckskinpelt, fluffed tail. Hall's WilderRidge sighting is one of severalanecdotal reports of this smallcarnivore in the Corridor area.But scientific surveys have failedto detect it. The subspecies hadbeen written off as extinct untilUS Forest Service biologist BillZielinski's crew photographed amarten within its historic range ineastern Del Norte County in 1998.

Karen Stone at Southern OregonUniversity, comparing DNA frommuseum specimens with a samplefrom Zielinski's marten, foundthat it was genetically distinctfrom the more common Sierrasubspecies. So, the obituaries mayhave been premature. It will takehard data to confirm theHumboldt marten's survival in theCorridor. For definitive evidence,Hall and biologist Noel Soucyplan to conduct field studies onWilder Ridge that may detectmarten tracks.

"Wherever it occurs,” saysZielinski, “the marten is a goodindicator species for mature andold growth forest."

Weaving a Quilt of Protection–Corridor from the Redwoods to the SeaA

(continued on page 6)

million from private contributions,matched by the Wildlife ConservationBoard. The 2,324 acres protected weretransferred to BLM in 2000. They areafforded the same level of protection asthe original Gilham Butte Reserve: notimber harvest, no transportation oftimber cut elsewhere.

“Critical mass was achieved when theLeague came on board,” recalls KateCrockett, a longtime advocate of forestprotection. The League has sincehelped purchase another 4,170 acresbetween Gilham Butte and the King

Range from Sierra Pacific Industriesand other willing sellers. Some of thenew parcels were selected with an eyetoward an eventual land exchange thattook place this year. All told, 15 sepa-rate parcels were acquired outright, tobe conveyed to public agencies forpermanent stewardship.

Fee title acquisition wasn’t the onlypath to protection. In the heart of theCorridor, Bob Stansberry’s family pur-chased their ranch from the originalsettlers over 70 years ago. Today theyraise Limousin cattle. The ranch isalready a corridor for black bears andmountain lions, and the Stansberryssay they don’t mind wildlife goingthrough as long as "they don’t stop forlunch." They’ve taken exemplary careof their land, and wanted to makesure it was never chopped up into 40-acre ranchettes. To do so they’veagreed to a conservation easement thatprecludes subdivision of the ranchinto parcels smaller than 600 acres.

Along with the easement, theStansberrys traded 1,200 acres withthe League. The family got more graz-ing land, control of their access road,and simpler ranch boundaries. TheLeague got land with large, old treesand valuable wildlife habitat, whichwill become BLM property. Both par-ties say they came out of the transac-tion feeling like winners. Anderton,who spent many days on the ranchduring discussions of the easementand exchange and came to know thearea well, recalls: “sharing our com-mon pleasure in the land made it acomplete and total pleasure to workwith the Stansberry family.” It wasanother example of “people who comeforward from very different perspec-tives to find common ground.”

seven-year effort by the Save-the-Redwoods League paid off in2006 with the completion of theCorridor from the Redwoods to theSea. This 10,500-acre matrix of landconnects the world’s largest old-growthredwood forest in HumboldtRedwoods State Park and thewindswept shores of the King RangeNational Conservation Area, whichhas the longest unroaded coastline inthe contiguous United States. A flightalong the Corridor would take youfrom the majestic redwoods of theRockefeller Forest in the Eel Riverflats, up through the Bull Creekdrainage, and over 3,040-foot-highGilham Butte. Then you’d dip into theisolated Mattole River valley, crossWilder Ridge, and climb into the KingRange. The lands newly protected,added to the 126,550 acres already instate and federal ownership, and willprovide habitat connectivity andenhance wildlife benefits for sensitivespecies native to coastal old-growthredwood, including the northernspotted owl and marbled murrelet.

The Corridor is a fascinating mosaicof ecosystems. Dark forests cover ridgeafter ridge, and grasslands sweep downto streams where endangered coho andChinook salmon and steelhead troutstill run. Not far west of busy US 101,the land still has a wild, remote feel. Itis home to at least 15 pairs of spottedowls, and perhaps creatures even rarer,like the Humboldt marten and Pacificfisher. On Gilham Butte, conifers thatwere growing when Shakespeare wasborn tower over multi-trunkedmadrones and huge old tanoaks. Inlate spring, whitethorn and Nootkarose bloom. Yellow-and-white irisescarpet the forest floor, and coral-rootorchids poke up through the duff. Thevoices of birds break the silence of the

Humboldt Marten, Photo by Bill Zielinski

Searching for theHumboldt Marten

Partnerships forProtectionThe product of a uniquelandscape-level set ofpartnerships, theCorridor would neverhave become realitywithout the League andthe support of itsmembers—or withoutthe fierce attachment tothe land demonstratedby neighbors like WilderRidge landowner J. J.Hall, who says: “WhatI’m happy about is thatbecause of the Corridor,I can guarantee that thelandscape I’m looking atwill not change.”

Some of those partners are individuals, like Hall and theStansberrys—the neighbors whose careful managementhas helped preserve their land’s natural values. Others aregroups like the Mattole Restoration Council, launched in1983 when residents came together to work on watershedissues. The Council has planted thousands of trees alongcreeksides, and its Good Roads, Clear Creeks programhelps landowners decommission or upgrade roads nearfish-bearing streams.

The Mattole Valley’s culture of stewardship complementsthe League’s vision of comprehensive protection. “One ofthe great things the League does is bring redwood-ecosystem-wide commitment into projects that have largeimpetus from local communities,” says Anderton.Working with the League, local groups have themselveslaunched the Redwoods to the Sea Stewardship Project,which encourages sustainable management of private landsneighboring public holdings.

That spirit also informed the development of theCommunity Management Plan for Gilham Butte andsurrounding Corridor lands transferred to BLM. TheMiddle Mattole Conservancy and the Mattole RestorationCouncil worked closely with local stakeholders. BLMprovided coaching, and the League gave advice andsupport. The planners, led by Eel River resident KateCrockett, mapped out memorial groves on Gilham Buttehonoring Jeremy McIntyre and Giles Mead, Jr., whosefamilies were important supporters. The plan includes a

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Over two months this winter, students from TOPS MiddleSchool visited and explored Pamplin Grove on the outskirts ofEureka. This opportunity was created by an education grantfrom Save-the-Redwoods League to The Ink People Center forthe Arts. The program taught students through both scientificexploration and artistic interpretation. More importantly itnurtured a bond between underserved Humboldt Countystudents and the surrounding redwood forest, a place moststudents had never ventured despite it being at their doorstep.

Students learned how to create maps, measure the height of atree, and identify plant and animal species. Innovative lessonplans encouraged them to capture their forest observations inillustration, creative writing and on video. Back at the InkPeople Media Lab, they used their experiences to createredwood interpretive materials.

After much graphic design and film editing work, the students returned to the forest with theirfinished projects to peer teach the rest of their school. A short film, trail maps, and a redwood rapsong combined with learning stations and nature hikes made the fieldtrip a fun, memorable andeducational event for all.

Barbara Domanchuk, the program director said, “Every teacher, mentor volunteer and student wascompletely engaged in the field work. The weather was challenging, but that did not slow anyonedown. Our senses were keen and the students’ observations were phenomenal.” The HumboldtState University Natural History Museum exhibited the students work for the general public.

Middle School Redwood Experts(continued from page 5)

full range of forest management and restorationprescriptions. The goal is to reduce fire danger and helpyounger conifers mature into old-growth. It’s hopedprivate landowners will apply plan guidelines to their ownlands.

“Watersheds are more than museums with wild landshanging on the walls,” writes Freeman House, author ofTotem Salmon, which celebrates the efforts of the MattoleRestoration Council. Bob Wick, BLM planning andenvironmental coordinator echoes that: “We can’t put aborder around the land. The only way to manage anecosystem like the Corridor, a complex mix of private andpublic land, is for landowners, public agencies, andenvironmental organizations to work together. Therestoration end of the spectrum is just as important as theacquisition. The process is as dynamic as the wholeenvironment we’re working in.”

Visit the public lands that bookend the Corridor:Humboldt Redwoods State Park to the east, where 60% ofthe world’s tallest trees grow, and the King Range to thewest, with coastal forests and tidepools to explore, andRoosevelt elk and other wildlife to view. For theadventurous, a hiking trail from the state park to BLMland on Gilham Butte awaits, and access to the westernCorridor lands can be gained via Wilder Ridge Road. Formore information, contact Humboldt Redwoods StatePark at (707)946-2409 or BLM at (707)825-2300 orwww.blm.gov.ca.arcata.

Big River State ParkSimpson Family Grove

Butano State ParkThe Calhoun and Moritz Families GroveThe Fredrick Monford Herrera GroveThe Ed Pollack Family Grove

Humboldt Redwoods State ParkCaptain W. L. Marshall USN GroveIvan Minderhout GroveLes and Nancy Whatley Family Grove

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State ParkEugene and Edith Geswander MemorialGroveThe Biba and Jon Parker Grove

Limekiln State ParkDedicated to Lee and Pete Vullo - Love Tommy

Navarro River Redwoods State ParkThe Hull and Maidment Family GroveThe Jones and Kelly Family MemorialGrove

Pfeiffer Big Sur State ParkJ. William and Eileen J. BigonessMemorial GroveThe Consolé Mill Cochrane Grove D

Portola Redwoods State ParkRuth P. Cummings Memorial Grove

Prairie Creek Redwoods State ParkAdriance – Monaco GroveThe Bruce S. and Jeanette C. HowardMemorial Grove

Purisima Open Space DistrictSally Sternau Shubin Memorial Grove

Redwood National ParkThe Donald and Ann Bernstein FamilyGroveAlthea P. Lang Grove in Memory of HerAunt, Althea C. Livesay

Sinkyone Wilderness State ParkRobert C. and Mae R. Carter AnniversaryGrove

Leading peers on a redwood ecology hike Photo by Barbara Domanchuk

Student artwork

Map by GreenInfo Network

Redwood Groves Dedicated Between June 15, 2005 and June 15, 2006

To receive the Bulletin via email, send your email address to membership@savetheredwoods.org

Save-the-Redwoods League 114 Sansome Street • Suite 1200 • San Francisco • CA • 94104(415) 362-2352 • (415) 362-7017 fax • www.savetheredwoods.org

9 PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

oe—look! Lie back and look up,’ I said. For longminutes, we lay quietly and looked up at the toweringgiants, their huge trunks plumbed straight up, seeminglyscraping the sky. It was the most awesome, stirring yethumbling scene we’d seen before or since. We never forgotit. We traveled all over the world since, and nothing evererased or replaced that feeling of grandeur, of nature’smajesty. As the years went on and we learned of the workof your League to Save the Redwoods, we shared anunwritten pact that we would do what we could to help.Hence this gift.”

The League was honored to receive this inspiring note fromlong-time member, Janice W. Krenmayr, of Seattle, Washington, advising us that she had independently established acharitable gift annuity through her local community foundation which “brings benefits to me as well as to the League.”With this gift annuity, Janice is keeping the pact she made with her husband Joe as they honeymooned in the redwoodsin the 1930’s. Janice’s gift annuity provides her income for life at an attractive annual rate and the remainder gift to theLeague will eventually fund a grove in memory of Janice and Joe.

For information about charitable gift annuities and planned giving, please contact Suzanne Ritchie, 888-836-0005, orsritchie@savetheredwoods.org

Joe and Janice Krenmayr in the 1930’s Photo by Seattle Times

Keeping a Pact

Join a distinguished group ofindividuals and families who havededicated a redwood grove through agift to Save-the-Redwoods League.

Groves are available throughout theredwood ecosystem, and namingopportunities begin at $25,000.Your donation may be made inlump sum, spread over a three-yearperiod, or by bequest or other formof planned gift. In most parks, asign bearing the name of thehonoree may be placed in the grove.

For more information, contact Jennifer Gabriel, bycalling (888) 836-0005 or by email atgroves@savetheredwoods.org.

YOU ARE INVITEDThe annual MembersReception will be heldon Wednesday,November 15, 2006,from 5:30–7:00 PM, at the World TradeClub along TheEmbarcadero in SanFrancisco. Come meetother redwood

conservationists and learn about Save-the-RedwoodsLeague’s progress over the past year. Please RSVP byOctober 15, 2006 to membership@savetheredwoods.org,using Members Reception in the subject line. Let usknow your full name and the names of your guests. We look forward to seeing you there.

F GROVE DEDICATIONf

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